Knitting machine



J. T. PFCE KNITTING MACHINE 'Filed Jim@ 1922 6 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR. 25S y1/z j.' Price March 24, 193925 1,531,25

.L PRiCE KNITTNG MACHNE F13-ed June 5, 19222 6 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. Jl/5gg, T Hice',

BX A520/w@ TTORNEYS.

March 24, 1925. 1,531,246

J. T. PRICE KNITTING MACHINE Filed June 3, 1922 6 Sheets-Sheet 5 f x f/ v 66 f :Of-1 l@ 65 g u WMM @Il A1' URNEYS.

W I TNESSES:

March 24, 1925Y 1,531,246

J. T. PRICE KNITTING MACHINE March 24, 1925. 1,531,246

J. T. PRICE KNITTING MACHINE Filed June 5, 1922 6 Sheets-Sheet 5 FIET K INVEATOR: Jose/viz T Praza,

ATTORNEYS.

March 24, 1925. 1,531,246

J. T. PRICE KNITTING MACHINE Filed June 5, 1922 6 Sheets-Sheet 6 Z LLT 'HIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIINIIHIII Y'urll :um

ilII|5||IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII INVEN TOR. WITNESSES.- Je/J T Price,

KQ By mf 2 MW- ATToRNEs/.

Patented Mar. 24, 1925.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOSEPH T. PRICE, OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR TO HORN SURGICAL COMPANY, OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA, A CORPORATION OF PENNSYL- VAN IA.

KNITT'ING MACHINE.

To all whom t may concern.:

Be it knownthat I, JOSEPH T. PRICE, a citizen of the United States, residing at Philadelphia, county of Philadelphia, and State of Pennsylvania, have invented eertain new and useful Improvements in K nltting Machines, whereof the following 1s a specification, reference being had to the accompanying drawings.

This invention relates to knitting machines for knitting'therapeutic garments such as elastic stockings, bandages, etc., wherein the elasticity inherent in the garment is due to the presence of an elastic thread which is interknitted with the body yarn as the garment is fabricated.

An object of the invention is to provide improvements in elastic thread feeding devices for machines of the character stated whereby the Working tension on the tliead and consequently its length may be auto,- matically varied as the-,knitting proceeds to produce v'a garment which is fashioned to coliform to the contour of that portion of the body upon which the garment is destined to be. worn.

Another object of the invention is to provide a rib knitterembodying a pattern chain for controlling the operation of the elastic thread feed, so that garments of various kindsl and shapes may be knitted on the one machine by merely changing the pattern chain or the relation of its tripping elements.

A further object of the mv'ention'is to provide an indicator for embodiment in a thread tensioning mechanism of the character described whereby the exact degree of tension on the thread may be observed by the operator at all times during the operation ci the machine.

In addition to the foregoing this invention comprehends'improvements 'in the details of construction and arrangement of the correlated parts to be hereinafter describedA and particularly pointed out by the appended claims.

lu the dra wings, Fig. I is a view in perspective of a circular rib knitting machine embodying my improved mechanism for tensioning and feeding elastic thread to the knitting mechanism.

Fig. II is a view of the machine-in top 1922. Serial No. 565,506.

V ture to disclose the mechanism therebeneatb.

-Fig. III is a view in side elevation of the lower portion of the machine illustrating the pattern mechanism.

Fig. IV is a view in perspective of the thread tensioning and laying mechanisms viewing the same from the inner side of the former,

Fig. V is a view in side elevation of the thread tensioning mechanism viewing the same from the outer side.

Fig. VI is a detail view in transverse section of a speed changing pulley and power transmission element forming part 0f the thread tensioning mechanism.

Fig. VII is a detail view in transverse section taken through the aforesaid elastic power transmission element.

Fig. VIII is a detail view in elevation of a relation maintaining device for insuring the proper positioning of two tripping elements forming parts of the thread tensioning mechanism.

Figs. IX and X are fragment-ary views in plan and front elevation, respectively. of a modified form of tension indicating mechanism. i

FiggXI is a detail view in side elevation of a modified means to guide the portions of the thread entering and leaving the tension rollers; and

Fig. XII is a detail fragmentary'view of a wear take-up means embodied in the bell crank forming part of the pattern mechanism.

lVith reference to the drawings, 10 indicates the base of a conventional form of circular rib knitting machine supporting the bed plate 11, the latter constituting a mounting for the stationary needle cylinder 12 and the rotating cam cylinder 1B. The machine illustrated is designed to knit a ribbed fabric of the two to one type, the cylinder needles, arranged in pairs being indicated at 14' in Fig. II and the dial needles at 15, so as to form in a well known manner a fabric showing double wales at one side of the fabric and single wales upon the other side. The body yarn designated 6W-Fig. IV-is fed to the needles in a manner customary in r0- tating cam cylinder machines. During the knitting of a fabric of this type, the elastic thread consisting of a very fine strand ofindia rubber inclosed in a casing of yarn, is laid between the cylinder needle loops and dial needle loops as the loops are cast during the knitting of each course, so that the elastic thread is securely enclosed Within the body of the fabric.

The elastic thread feeding mechanism is carried by an arm 16 which is fixed to and extends radially from the cam cylinder, and includes a variable speed transmission mechanism consisting of a rectangular open sided frame 17 within which a pair of horizontal, vertically spaced, driving and driven shafts 18 and 19 respectively are suitably journalled. The lower or driven shaft 19 is extended beyond the side ofthe frame 17 to support a fluted roller 20 which cooperates with a similar roller 21 loosely carried upon one end of a lever 22 which is turn is fulcrumed at 23 upon the adjacent side of the frame 17. A coiled spring 24 is secured at one end to the free end of the lever 22 while the opposite end of said spring is fixed to a pin extending from the side of the frame 17 so that the rollei` 21 will be resiliently urged into contact with the roller 20. If desired a means may be provided to vary the tension of the spring 24 so that a proper degree of pressure between the rollers 20 and 21 may be secured. The fulcrum point of the liver 22, it will be observed, is located directly abovel the roller 20 and the length of said lever is such as to cause the roller 21 to travel in a curved path which is tangential relative to the roller 20, thereby permitting the rollers 20 and 21 to 'coact to pinch an elastic thread fed,therebetween to a degree dependent upon the tension of the spring 24. Loosely mounted upon each of the shafts 18 and 19 are expansible cone pulley couples 25 and 26 respectively, each couple comprising conical members designed for shifting movement toward and away from each other upon their respective shafts, the cone faces being disposed in opposed relation as shown, whereby to accommodate between them an elastic power transmission element indicated generally at 27 and comprising a pair of endless helical spring elements 28 along which are strung a plurality of sections of tubular material 29, each section having a core 30 of relatively soft material such as rattan protruding beyond the ends of the tubular sections and bevelled to correspond to the angle of ,the cone members of the pulleys 25, 26 so as to contact with the faces thereof. A pair of levers 31 and 32 are fulcrumed upon the frame 17, one upon each vertical member so that the lower ends of the levers ma engage the outer surfaces of the cone members of the pulley 26 While the portions of said levers above their fulcrum points may engage the outer sides of the cone members of the pulley 25 by virtue of lateral enlargements 33 formed upon said levers. A4 shaft 34 is journalld in brackets 35 fixed to the upper portion of the frame 17 and said shaft 34 is threaded oppositely along its ends for corresponding engagement with a pair of nuts 36 and 37 to which the upper ends of the levers 31 and 32 are respectively pivotally connected. A bevelled gear 38 is fixed to one end of the shaft 34 for meshing engagement with a bevelled gear 39 Inounted upon the upper end of a vertical shaft 40, one end ofwhich is journalled in one of the said brackets 35 and the opposite end journalled in an extension of the frame 17. A bevelled gear 41 is fixed to the lower end of the shaft for meshing engagement with a bevelledgear 42 which is fixed to a short section of shaft 43 journalled in a bracket 44 extending laterally from the frame 17. An actuating device or tappet wheel is mounted on theshaft 43 in the form of a plurality of radial arms 45 which are designed to be successively tripped by one or the other of a pair of tripping pins 46 and 47 mounted for shifting movement in a horizontal plane radially-of the machine upon a bracket 48 which is fixed to the side of the bed plate 11 and which supports a vertical post 49 in turnsupporting in pivotal relation a pair of superposed push levers 50 and 51. One end of each of said levers 50, 51 is designed to engage the end of its associated and adjacent tripping pin. A coiled spring 52 is embraced about the outer end of each pin 46 and 47 and interposed between the headed ends of said pins and the bracket 48 to retain said pins in normal retracted position; and a safety or relation maintaining device 53 is provided comprising a pair of oppositely extending arms each designed to engage beneath the headed end of its respective pin 46 and 47, the device 53 being fulcrumed at a pointI intermediate its extremities upon the bracket 48 so that When one pin is retracted the other one is extended and vice versa, exceptat such times when both pins 46, 47 arc retracted under the influence of their individual springs 52. Each lever and 51-is enlarged at its trip pin engaging end as shown at 54 forming push buttons to permit said levers to be manually operated when desired. The opposite end of each lever 50 and 51 is designed to engage one arm of its associated bell crank of a pair indicated at 55I and 56 respectively, said bell cranks being fnlcrumed at 57 upon the side of the base 10 while their opposite arms are designed to ride over an endless chain 58 constituting a portionof the pattern nicchanism. The chain 5S is operated by a sprocket wheel 5f) loosely mounted upon a shaft 60, but having a frictional engagement therewith and fixed to said sprocket wheel is a ratchet wheel 6l operatively associated with a lpawl 62 pivotally carried upon an arm 63 w ich is loosely supported upon the shaft 6,0. A link 64 is pivoted at one end to the extremity of the arm 63 and the opposite end of said link is eccentrically pivoted to the' face of a disk 65 which is inturn, i'xedly mounted upon a shaft 66 extending horizontally across the machine to support at its op-l posite end a relatively large spur gear 67 in meshin engagement with a pinion 68 fixed upon te power shaft 69. A counter-halanced crank arm 70 may be fixed to lthe shaft 60 to effect rotation of the sprocket 59 for the urpose of effecting manual adjustment of t 1e machine. An annular gear 71 is mounted over the bed plate 11 ofthe machine'and'is lmnovably supported upon arms 72 extending radially and inwardly from said bed plate. A vertical shaft 73v is supported upon the frame 17 for rotation and fixed to said shaft is a spur gear 74 driven by an idler 7 4 in meshing engagement with'the annular gear, 71. A bevel ear 75 is carried upon the upper end of the s aft 73 for' meshing engagement with a bevel ear 76 which is fixed to a projecting end o the shaft 18 forming art of the variable speed drive'.

A brac et 77 carried lby the cam cylinder 13 supports the needle dial and also a pivoted container 78 in which the elastic thread is loosely held. The elastic thread, indicated at 79 is brought upwardly from the source of supply and trainedover a guide member 80, and then strung across the face of a roller 81 which is fixed to the upper end of a vertical shaft 82 journalled at its lower end upon an extension of the bracket 77 and atits upper end upon a bracket arm 83 projecting laterally from a central rod 84 carried by the cam cylinder. The roller 81 is formed with a cylindrical intermediate portion covered with felt and smooth conical end portions. IA gear wheel ,85 is fixed to the lower end of the shaft 82 for meshing engagement with the annular gear 71. The elastlc thread 79 is then trained over a second its dlrection of movement by passage ove-r a third guide 87 positioned directl over the tensioning mechanism is' led ownward, through the eye of a guide member 88 and subsequently passed between-the above described fiuted rollers 20 and 21 of the feeding mechanism. A stripping finger 81 `is adjustably carried by the arm 83 to engage the felted face of the roller 81 so as 'to strlp the elastic thread from'said roller and prevent the thread' from being carried around withl the roller by adhesion'thereto. 'Issuing from between said uted rollers 20, 21

the elastic thread 79 passes through the eyev of another guide member 89 and finally throu h a guide member 90 carried by a post 91 which is lxed to the cam cylinder 13 and positioned so that the elastic thread 79 may of the bell crank 55, thereby guide member 86 and afterchanging be readl laid between the needles 14, 15 during tA e knittin of the fabric, in the manner described ,a ove. For the purpose of manually adjusting the variable speed drive with reference to the working tension desired on the elastic thread 79 a hand Wheel 92 ma be fixed to the extending end of the threa ed shaft 34. To afford a visual indication of -the degree of tension under which the elastic thread 79 is fed I may provide an indicating device consisting of a link 93 pivoted to one end of the nut 37 and havinga slot 94 formed longitudinally in its opposite end to receive a pin 95 extendin from the nut 36. A rack b ar 96 is carrie by the link 93 for meshing-engagement with a inion 97 carredvupon a shaft 98 which is Journalled in a dial plate 99 and carries a pointer 100 designed to travel over a series o 4graduations 101 provided upon the dial p ate.

lVhen knitting a garment on this machine a normal tension should be imparted to the elastic thread 79 by manipulation of the hand wheel 92 so that when knittin lthe full portions of the garment, equal in iameter to that of the needle cylinder, the tension on the threadwill be at a minimum, but of a de ree suflicient to insure pro er formation o the garment. As the knitting proceeds the pattern chain 58 will be shifted intermittently under the awling influence of the shaft 66 transmitte throu h the link 64 and pawl 62 until a series o lugs 102 carried upon the chain alon its outer edge will -be successively brought eneath the arm rocking the same so as to shift the tripping pin 46 in.- ward -and simultaneously VVshiftin the pin 47 outwardly. During each rotation of the cam cylinder 13 one of the arms 45 will be trip ed by the pin 46, thereby rotating the sha t 43 in a counterclockwise direction, the motion ofwvhich is transmitted through its associated train of gears to the shaft 34,

Vcorresponding rotation of lwhich effects a separation of the nuts 37 and 36 so that the upper ends of the levers 31 and 32 are moved apart and their lower ends moved toward each other, thus moving together the cone members of the pulley 26 so as to enlarge the circumferential line of contact between the cone faces and the edges of the transmission element 27, and-to correspondingly decrease the circumferential line of contact lbetween said power element and the faces of the cone members of the pulley 25. As a consequence the s eed ratio between theshafts 18 and 19 wil be altered so as to decrease the s eed of the'driven shaft 19- The rate at w lich the elastic thread 7-9 is fed by the lluted roller 20 will thus be slightl less than the rate at which it is taken up uring rotation of the cam cylinder 13, and consequently the thread will be slightly tensioned. The next lug of the series 102 to engage the bell crank will cause a repetition of this performance resulting in another tensioning of the elastic thread 79 and so on until thegarment is gradually narrowed to the point desired. Obviously, it will be necessary to effect a reversal of the process described above to cause a uniform slackening of the elastic thread 79 to permit Widening of the garment if such widening is required in the form of the garment. This reversal is effected by the provision of a series of lugs 103 located alongl the inner edge of the chain 58 so as to engage the end of the bell crank .56. As soon as this bell crank 56 is engaged the lower lever 51 is rocked causing the lower tripping pin 47 to be extended and the upper pin 46 retracted so that during each revolution of the cam cylinder 13 the arms 45 will be tripped along their lower ends and cause rotation of the shaft 43 in a clockwise direction. As a consequence the speed of the fiuted roller 20 will be stepped up with reference to the reduced rate of feed of the elastic thread 79 and the tension on said thread will be thus uniformly decreased as each lug-103 of the series is brought beneath the bell crank 56, and so on until the required degree of tension is. relieved.

YIt is desirable in order to insure perfect working of the tensioning mechanism described to prevent tension upon any portion of the elastic thread 79 except between the fluted roller 20 and the point of laying in of said thread. To this end the roller 81 is provided, the function of which is to unravel and raise the thread 79 from the supply within the container 78 ,and to maintain slack within the elastic thread at every point up to the roller 20. The size of the gear 85 is therefore proportioned with respect to the size of the gear 71 so as to maintain the proper degree of slack during operation of the machine. The rate of feed of the roller 8l is therefore arranged so as to be in step with the take-up of the needle cylinder 12 when the latter is knitting the wider portions of the garment requiring a maximum rate of thread supply. Obviously, when the machine is knitting the narrow portion of the garment the rate of feed of the roller 81 being the same at all times the thread would be supplied faster than required were it not for the provision of the conlcal lower end of the roller 81. Thus as the rate of take-up of the needle cylinder 12 decreases the elastic thread 79 will sag between the guides 80 and 86 and fall away from engagement with the roller 8 1 and feeding of said thread will cease until the thread is again raised into contact with the roller by take-up of the knitting mecha'- nism. The effect of this arrangement therefore is to provide an intermittent feed of the elastic` thread 79 and also to accommodate periods of release or slack in the thread. It will benoted that as the nuts 36 and 37 are shifted relatively resulting in a tensioning or slackening of the' elastic thread 79 their movements will be imparted to the pointer 100 so that the position thereof with respect to the graduations 101 will indicate the exact degree of tension or strain under which said elastic thread is fed to the needles 14, 15.

In Figs. IX and X, I have illustrated a modified form of mechanism for indicating elastic thread tension which' operates upon the same principle as the mechanism hereinbefore described but embodies a. more efficient construction. The rack bar 96 is secured to the ,upper side of the nut 37v and slides over the nut 36. A shaft 98 is journalled at one end in the dial plate 99 and at its other end in a bracket 104 fixed to the frame 17. .i pinion 105 carried by the shaft 98 meshes with the rack bar-96', andthe former carries the pointer 100. By supporting the shaft 98 at both ends a more rigid construction is provided ensuring a more accurate indication of thread tension.

In lieu of the thread guides 88 and 89 for the feed rollers 20, 21, I may employ as an alternate construction the type of guides shown in Fig. XI wherein 106 indicates a funnel shaped guide carried upon a bracket 107 so as to be positioned with its smaller end directed toward the point of contact of the rollers 20 and 21 and in closely spaced relation at the entering side. A second funnular guide 108 carried by a bracket 109 is positioned at the leaving side of the rollers 20, 21 with its larger end directed toward said rollers and bevelled so as to be located in very closely spaced relation thereto. The axes of the two funnular guides 106, 108 are also placed in direct alignment. Thus by inserting the endof the elastic thread 79 into the funnel guide 106 the point of said thread is automatically guided between the rollers 20` 21 and upon issuing at the other side is received into the funnel guide 108 and issued therefrom so as to be readily grasped for adjustment in the .needle cylinder feed.

The lugs 102 and 103 of the pattern chain are subject to wear and as a slight decrease in height will result inV magnified alteration of the extent of movement of the tripping pins 46 and 47'by reason of the multiplying lever connectlons intervening. I may provide a compensating device such as is shown in Fig. XII, wherein th:` upper ends of the bell cranks 55 and 56 are each rovided with a finger 110 mounted thereon 1n pivotal relation and having a lateral extension 111 adapted to engage the end of the associated bell crank 50 or 51. A set screw 112 threaded into the bell crank 55 or 56 and bearing against the extension 111 serves to vary the effective length of thesaid bell crank to offset any wear of the pattern chain lugs 102, 103.-

Thus it will be seen that while the body yarn a may be fed to the needles 14, l5 in a uniform manner so that the fabric product would ordinarily be a straight sided tube, nevertheless a fashioned garment is actually produced because of the variable tension imparted to said elastic thread, during the knitting of ldifferent parts of the garment. Thus, while knitting a portion of the garment having the full diameter of the needle cylinder 12 vthe tension-on the elastic thread 79 must be at a minimum, and when an extremely narrow` portion is to be knitted the elastic thread 79 must be tensioned to a relatively high degree, so that when the garment is finished the tensioned portion of said elastic thread Will cause a shrinking or reduction in diameter of the parts of the garment enclosed by the tensioned thread, By arranging the lugs 102, 103 on the pattern chain 58 a garment of any desired form may be made, having one or more narrow portions and shaped with either gradual or abrupt curves according to the contour of those portions of the body to be covered. The shape of the garment may be altered at will independently of the pattern mechanism by manually pushing in one or the other ofthe levers 50 and 51 as the knitting'proceeds.` As the working tension of the elastic thread 79 is indicated by the indicating mechanism 100, 101 described the operator is appraised at every moment of the true working conditions of the machine, even whenl positioned at a distance therefrom, so as to effect adjustments when needed with a minimum loss of time.

Obviously, during the passage of blank portions of the pattern chain 58 beneath the bell cranks 55, 56, the feed mechanism is ineffective to cause any variation in tension on the elastic thread 79 and consequently straight tubular work will result, the tripping pins 46 and 47 being maintained in neutral positions. Should pressure be accidentally applied to the push levers 50 and 51 simultaneously the safety or relation maintaining device 53 will function to prevent the extension of more than one tripping pin 46 or 47 into the path of motion of the tappet wheel 45 and in this manner injury to lthe machine is prevented.

aving thus described my invention, I claim:

1. In a circular rib knittin machine, the combination of meansfor fee ing an elastic thread under tension to the knitting mechanism and means for feeding said elastic the. first and second feeds.

2. In a circular rib knitting machine, the combination of means for feeding an elastic v thread under tension to the knitting mechanism and a roller around which the elastic thread is passed at a point bet-Ween the source of supply and said feeding mech-` anism whereby to automatically slack said elastic thread at all points between the roller and said feeding mechanism.

3. In a circular rib knitting machine, including a rotary 'cam cylinder, means car-- ried by the cam cylinder for feeding an elastic thread under tension to the knitting mechanism, a roller around which the thread is passed to feed the thread from a source of supply to said feeding mechanism with accommodation for periods of release therein, a stationary gear, and a pinion in mesh with said gear and carried by the cam cylinder for .operating said roller.

4. In a circular rib knitting machine, including a rotary cam cylinder, the combination of means for feeding an elastic thread under tension to the knitting mechanism, a container movable with the cam cylinder adapted to contain a supply of elastic thread, a series of lguides for conveying the elastic thread from the source of supply to said feeding mechanism, a roller havmg a cylindrical intermediateand conical end portions located between said guides and engaging thethread to feed the thread without tension to-said feeding mechanism, a stationary gear, and a pinion carried by the cam cylinder and meshing with said gear to operate the roller.

5. In a circular rib knitting machine, the

.combination of a driven roller for feeding an elastic thread to the knitting machine, a lever, a second roller carried by one end of said fulcrumed lever with capacity for movement toward` and away from the driven roller in a direction substantially tangential thereto, and a 4spring connected to the opposite end of the lever to urge the second roller into engagement with the driven roller so as to pinch the elastic thread therebetween.

6. In a circular rib knitting machine, the combination of a speed changing device including a driving and a driven shaft, an elastic transmission, companion rollers-one of which is tangentially influencedoperable by the driven shaft to feed an elastic thread to the knitting mechanism, a pattern mechanism, and a tripping means operable at a point during each course operation of the machine to vary the speed ratio between the driving and driven shafts to vary the rate of feed of the thread.

7. In a circular rib knitting machine, the

combination of a speed changing device Yin cluding a driving and a'driven shaft, an elastic yconnecting transmission, com anion rollers-one of which is tangentia ly influenced-operable b the driven shaft to feed an elastic threa to the knitting mechanism, a pattern mechanism, and a pair of tripping means operable alternately by the pattern mechanism te control operation fof the speed changing mechanismto vary the speed ratio between the driving and driven shafts to effect a variation -in the -rate of feed of the elastic thread.

8. In a circular rib knitting machine, the combination of a speed changing mechanism including a driving and a driven shaft, means operable by the driven shaft to feed an elastic thread to the knitting mechanism, an expansible cone pulley carried by each shaft, a power transmission element connecting the pulleys, a pattern mechanism, and means operable by the pattern mechanism to alter the relation of said cone pulleys to effect a change of speed between the driving and driven shafts to effect a variation in the rate of feed of the elastic thread.

' 9. In a circular rib knitting machine, the combination of a speed changing mechanism, including a driving and a driven shaft, me'ans operated by the driven shaftto feed an elastic thread to the knitting mechanism, an expansible cone pulley mounted on each shaft, a. power transmission element operatively connecting said pulleys, a shaft having oppositely threaded portions, a pattern mechanism including means operable upon said threaded shaft to rotate the same alternately in one direction or the other, and means operable `by said threaded shaft to vary the relation of the pulleys to effect a change in speed ratio between the driviner and riven shaft to change the rate of feed of the elastic thread.

10. lIn a circular rib knitting machine, the combination of companion fluted rollers,-one of which is tangentially influenced for feeding an elastic thread to the knitting mechanism, means for varying the rate of feed, a tappet member for controlling said feed varying means, a pattern .mechanism, a pair of tripping pins, means normally retaining the tripping pins in retracted position, and bell cranks operable by the pattern mechn anism for throwing one or the other of said tripping pins into a position for engagement with the tappet member to effect variation in the rate of feed of the elastic thread.

11. In a circular rib knitting machine, the combination of means for varably feeding an elastic thread to the knitting mechanism, a. tappet member for controlling operation of said mechanism, a attern mechanism, a pair of tripping mem rs, means normally retracting said tripping members, a manually operable means for each trippin mem-- ber to extend the same into engagea .le position with respect to ithe 'tappetmember, a pattern mechanism, and bell cranks operable by said pattern mechanism through said manually operable means as instrumentalities to automatically extend the pins in the manner stated to effect a `variation in the rate of feed of the elastic thread.v

12. In a circular rib knitting machine, the combination of means for variably feeding an elastic thread to the knitting mechanism, a tappet means for controlling operation of said feed, a attern mechanism, a pair of tripping mem rs, means operable by the pattern mechanism to dispose either of said tripping members into engagement with tlie tappet member, and a relation retaining member correlating said tripping members to maintain the same in' alternately retracted or extended position.

13. In a circular rib knitting machine, the combinationof means for feeding an elastic thread to the knitting mechanism, means for varying the tension upon the thread, a dial plate, a, pointer traveling over the dial, and a rack and pinion operated by the feeding mechanism to move the pointer and cause vthe latter to indicate the speed of the aforesaidv feeding means whereby the exact degree of tension upon the elastic thread may be observed. 14. In a circular rib knitting machine, driven and tangentially inuence companion rollers for feeding an elastic thread to the knitting mechanism, a variable speed means to control and vary the rate of feed, and pattern mechanism including independentv o erable bell cranks cooperating with the f control, one to effect increase in the rate of feed and another to effect decrease in the rate of feed. y 15. In a circular rib knitting machine, means for feeding an elastic thread to the knitting mechanism, means to Ycontrol and vary the rate of feed, and a pair of superposed push levers capable of manual operation, actuable at will to effect respectively increase or decrease in the rate of feed, whereby to manually control the fashioning of a garment.

16. In a circular rib knitting machine, means for feeding an elastic thread to the knitting mechanism, means to control and vary the rate of feed, a pair of superposed push levers capable of independent manual operation. actuable respectively to effect increase and decrease in the rate of feed, and a relation maintaining device correlating the manually operable means to prevent operative manipulation thereof of more than one at a time.

17. In a circular rib knitting machine. means for variably feeding an elastic thread to the knitting mechanism, and means for feeding the thread to the first feeding means at a variable rate in step with the takeup of said first feeds A 18. In a circular rib knitting machine, means for variahly feeding an elastic thread. to the knitting mechanism, means for feeding the thread to the first feeding means, including' a roller and thread guides cooperating to retain the thread in'rict-ionai contact with the roller, whereby the thread may fall away from the roller when the rate of feed of the -latter is excessive With respect to the rate of takeup of the first feed, to maintain the rate of thread supply in step with the rate of take-up.

19. In a circular rib knitting machine, means for variahly feeding` an elastic thread to the knitting mechanism, and means for feeding the thread to the first feed in- (hiding a roller turning about'a substantialu ly vertical axis, thread guides to retain the thread in frictional engagement with a portion of the circumference of the roller, and a conical portion at the lower end of the roller permitting the thread `to sag away from contact with the roller and to guide the thread bachJ into contact.

2Q. In. a circular rib knitting machine, means for feeding an elastic thread to the knitting mechanism comprising a roller having a cylindrical'intermediate section covered with a` felt facing and smooth coni cai end portions, and guides to retain the thread in engagement with a relatively small portion of the circumference of said roller.. c y

- 21. In a circular rib knitting machine, means for feeding an elastic thread to the knitting mechanism comprising a roller having a cylindrical intermediate section cov ered with a felt` facing and smooth conical end portions, guides to retain, the thread in contact with only a small portion of the circumference of the roller, and an adjustable stripping -finger to prevent the thread from being carried. around the roller by adhesion with the felt facing. A

22. 1n a circular rib knitting machine, means to feed an elastic thread, means to tary the rate of feed, a pattern mechanism including a pattern chain carrying pattern lugs, hell cranks operable by engagement withthe lugs to multiply motion and transmit. the same to the varying means, and adjustable pivoted fingers on the 1ugengag ing ends of said bell cranks for maintaining uniform the rate of multiplication of movement by compensating for Wear of the pattern lugs.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto signed my name at Philadelphia, Pennsyl- Vania7 this 29th day of May 19:22.

JCBEPH T. PRICE.

lVitnesses:

JAMES H; BELL, E. L. FULLERTON. 

